Abstract

This article examines the role of the regional personnel offices (RPOs), and more generally, the concept of corporate regionalism to develop a better understanding of regional institution building as an important step in the globalization of business. By consolidating operating companies under a unified management, regional concepts are usually quite appealing. But regionalism is not without its limitations. Most of the areas of the world are far less homogeneous than regiocentrism assumes them to be. And the degree of homogeneity is subject to widely varying interpretations. It is far easier, for example, for an American to see the Europeanness of a German than for a Frenchman to identify this same characteristic in an Englishman. The lack of shared perspective and cultural uniformity has seriously inhibited the growth of regiocentrism. Despite these limitations, regional management forms are here to stay. Effective management of human resources is critical to the success of the multinational enterprise. With proper care, the RPO can be an important step in expanding the global perspective and worldwide effectiveness of the firm.